Brenner Base Tunnel

The Brenner Base Tunnel (German: "Brennerbasistunnel"; Italian: "Galleria di base del Brennero") a convert|56|km|mi|0|lk=on|adj=on long railway tunnel under constructioncite news
first = Julius
last = Müller-Meiningen
title = Monumentales Superloch
url = http://www.sueddeutsche.de/automobil/artikel/268/123098/
work = Sueddeutsche Zeitung
date = 2008-04-30
language = German ] through the base of the Brenner massive. It will run from Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof in Austria to Franzensfeste (Fortezza) in Italy.

The Brenner Pass, in the Alps at the border between Austria and Italy, is one of the most important traffic connections between northern and southern Europe, and the motorway going over it is infamous for its frequent traffic jams. Also, pollution from this traffic is a major concern and political issue not only in the adjacent Inn valley, but also for European Union politics.

The hope is to relieve this situation by greatly improving the railway connection between Tyrol and Italy with the new tunnel, which will allow trains to cross the Alps much faster. Currently, speeds in the Brenner region barely exceed convert|70|km/h|mph|0|lk=on due to the steepness of the existing tracks, which cross the pass at a rather high elevation.

The project is funded by Austria and Italy, and a contribution by the European Union. Due to the magnitude of the project (it will be the world's second longest tunnel, after the Gotthard Base Tunnel), the funding promised so far will not suffice for the estimated costs. Austria and Italy are prepared to pay 30% each of the estimated EUR 6bn construction costs, and negotiations are underway concerning the rest of the funding. It is open whether the goal, namely to finish by 2015 will be reached. A new construction time line with a 2022 finish date was put forth in a memorandum signed by the Austrian and Italian ministers of transport. [cite web |url= http://ec.europa.eu/ten/transport/coordinators/doc/2006_2007/2007_09_10_pp01_en.pdf|format= PDF|title= Annual activity report by the coordinator Karel Van Miert - PRIORITY PROJECT 1 Berlin-Verona/Milan-Bologna-Naples-Messina-Palermo rail link|accessdate= 2007-12-09|last= van Miert|first= Karel|authorlink= Karel Van Miert|date= 2007-09-10]

It is predicted that 320 freight trains as well as 80 passenger trains will traverse the tunnel daily after its completion. The travel time from Innsbruck to Bolzano will be reduced from 2 hours to 50 minutes.

tatus

In the summer of 2006 work started on a pilot tunnel that will run along the line of the future tunnel and will be used for removing water and spoil during the major construction phase. Construction of the pilot tunnel between 2006 and 2009 is estimated to cost €430 million and will be 50% EU funded. [cite press release |title= Brenner Tunnel: construction of the exploratory gallery begins|publisher= European Commission|date= 2006-06-29|url= http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/880&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en|accessdate= 2006-12-13|quote= ]

See also

*Treno Alta Velocità

External links

* [http://www.bbt-se.com BBT SE]
*it icon [http://www.fsnews.it/fsnews/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ba0f51d189499110VgnVCM1000001c42fe0aRCRD Tunnel del Brennero: avviati i lavori alla presenza del Presidente Giorgio Napolitano]

References